Tobias Buckell is one of science fiction’s rising stars, with three BOOKGASM-approved novels already under his belt: CRYSTAL RAIN, RAGAMUFFIN and the new SLY MONGOOSE. Here, the Ohio-based novelist talks to us about building a fan base, his first venture into tie-in territory and why Borders isn’t carrying his hardcovers, frustratingly enough.
BOOKGASM: What’s your reaction to Borders not ordering one copy of SLY MONGOOSE? Do you think it’s because the big chains are using more shelf space for licensed science fiction with proven brands?
BUCKELL: I think they ordered a very small amount, but for all intents and purposes, I’ve gotten a lot of e-mail that runs along the line of, “I went out to buy your book but couldn’t. Where the hell is it?”
A lot of writers have order-to-net experiences, where chains use a computer to order the next book of an author. So someone who gets their first novel sold has, let’s pretend, 10,000 copies in a chain across the country. If it sells through at 50 percent, the chain next orders 5,000 — the logic being, that’s what it sold last. It sounds reasonable, but what happens is that authors usually hew to their sell-through percentages.
So instead of that 5,000 selling, what usually happens is that 2,500-3,000 sell, right? So what do the chains order for the third book? About 2,500-3,000. And it becomes a cycle of diminishing returns until something breaks: Either the author gets dropped by the publisher or the chain, or they manage to break out. But it’s why a first novel is easier to sell than a fourth or fifth.
An author can also break out of this as word of mouth spreads. If the computers are set up to reorder books that move out quickly, you can still break out of this “death spiral.” From what I can tell, though, Borders is not just ordering to net, but sort of pre-killing books.
So, for example, in Toledo at their Borders, where a number of my family and friends live and buy books, my first novel had three or four copies initially stocked on shelves, sold 40 to 50 copies — due in part to a signing and some placement in store — and was reordered when copies ran out. But in Borders across the U.S., it didn’t do as well as Borders had hoped. So when the second novel came out, they only ordered two. Not surprising.
But here is where it gets wonky for me: When those two came out, they were purchased right away by friends in Toledo — who gleefully had me sign them right away — and the store never restocked, despite those copies selling within a couple hours of going on sale.
Why was that? I didn’t know until I was told a “do not reorder” hold had been placed RAGAMUFFIN, my second book. So no matter how they sold, individual Borders didn’t trigger a reorder. An artificial cap on the number of hardcovers I could sell had been placed, stunningly enough. And now with SLY MONGOOSE, not a single copy appeared in Toledo, though I’m told a handful of Borders around the country have seen copies. A few booksellers at Borders who are fans of my books have actually purchased SLY MONGOOSE at other stores, and have told me they are not allowed to order them in, even if they would like to hand-sell them. Even more strangely, some Borders employees, confused about the “do not reorder” tag, have turned away my readers who have asked to special-order SLY MONGOOSE.
I should be frustrated. I know of other authors who’ve seen the same thing happen, but I’m more puzzled. I have to wonder, though, if this is part of the reason why Barnes & Noble made $15.4 million last quarter and Borders lost $9.2 million over the same quarter. When I talk to Barnes & Noble stores, each one has the ability to decide to order books that are selling in store as they see fit. They don’t seem managed from corporate in every little detail as their competition.
And yet, I’m reading in the latest LOCUS that Ursula K. LeGuin’s latest book was turned down by Barnes & Noble — the opposite of my experience. I know of writers who do great by Borders, and not Barnes & Noble. I think writers, including me, can get frustrated by all this, but there is no “right” to being on the shelves. We feel like if we can just sell a book, that the hardest work is over.
But the truth is, these companies don’t owe us anything. They’re businesses, and whether they’re making their decisions for right, or wrong, profitable or unprofitable reasons, they still have the right to do whatever. My job is to gain an audience and following for my works that gets them to have to not ignore me. And as such, one can feel like Sisyphus shoving a rock up a hill, but it’s a rock and a hill I chose, so I can’t upbraid myself for doing this.
And lastly, I feel rather compelled to point this out as it’s a fact that people who’ve e-mailed me to rail against Borders keep forgetting, Borders has been more than happy to carry my paperbacks, indicating that it’s a format question for them. So I’m not exactly out on the street begging for spare change, mind you. I’m just wishing that the hardcover of the latest book was getting more play.
BOOKGASM: Knowing that licensed science fiction is taking shelf space from orignal stuff, why write HALO: THE COLE PROTOCOL, a licensed tie-in book?
BUCKELL: Does it take away shelf space? I don’t have access to a lot of bookstores, but in the local mall store, the SF/F shelf stayed the same. I think they dug in non-fiction to expand the licensed SF division; it’s in a separate area. The license vs. original debate is a near-religious one, and I hate to get involved in arguments when no one has any data, studies, polls of readers and habits, and some hard data on how book shelves may or may not have been reconfigured. Until all that happens, it’s anecdotes and assertions.
I have gotten some rather sharp e-mails about writing a licensed novel, which I should have expected, but the long and short of this is that I enjoy the game — enough so that when I told my wife I’d been asked about the possibility of writing a HALO novel, she laughed and wondered when I’d start, as I played the game several times a week with friends on Xbox Live.
I’ve turned down tie-in work before, due the property not being interesting enough or something I loved. For me, this was something I thought I would have a lot of fun writing, and that was what got me on board. There really isn’t enough money in writing in general for me to do it for solely financial reasons; the non-fiction work and consulting I do pays way more for far less effort. All my fiction involves projects I’m passionate about, or think will be fun. It has to be, if I’m going to dedicate months on sleepless months to it.
BOOKGASM: Do you feel trapped by the “raised in the Caribbean” angle on your bio? I’m sure it made it a tad easier to get your foot in the door, but how does you feel about it now?
BUCKELL: It’s a fundamental part of my self and my bio that I keep because it’s important to me. I don’t know if it was easier to get in the door, actually. I still remember one rejection on my first novel that explained that it was confusing to have a novel with minority main characters written by someone who didn’t look obviously like a minority, but was mixed-race and kept asserting it. They said they didn’t know how to market it or explain it.
Now while my Caribbean background is strongly evident in my current books, when I deviate out and write something that is about one of my other passions, I imagine there might be more confusion as some people think they have me pigeonholed.
BOOKGASM: How in the heck do you get books out so quickly?
BUCKELL: It doesn’t feel quick on this end! I seem to be taking about a year per book, although each book takes a little bit less time as I figure out my habits.
BOOKGASM: Have you noticed your audience build with each successive novel? How much of a writer’s success is now due to a writer’s own marketing efforts?
BUCKELL: My audience is certainly increasing. I keep track of my website traffic and searches on my name, and they all trend up over time. Besides that quantifiable data, I also seem to be getting more fan mail, particularly in the last quarter or so, and I’m really starting to get more and more people I don’t recognize stopped me at conventions and so forth to talk to me about my books. I’ve heard that somewhere around books four or five, authors really start to notice an audience spike, so I’ll be curious to see what happens over the next year or two!
As to marketing efforts, those are so hard to quantify. I think marketing efforts that are natural for the author have a positive impact. I’m fairly social, so I love going to conventions and readings and book fairs — anywhere that’ll take me. Talking to readers, doing panels — all that I think has helped me. Keeping the blog since 1998 means that I still get readers who have followed me since they first read a short story of mine and started following my career.
But I think it’s important to be genuine. I like all that stuff, signings and readings. I run into some authors who think they have to do all that and who are miserable, and I think people sense the vibe they give off. If you’re happier staying inside writing, that’s what’s most important. Again, most of us are not making millions; why kill yourself doing something you hate? For me, getting to meet readers is just fun, so I try to get out there as much as possible. —Ryun Patterson and Rod Lott
OTHER RECENT BOOKGASM AUTHOR INTERVIEWS:
• Q&A with THE ALCHEMY OF STONE’s Ekaterina Sedia
• Q&A with THE MAX’s Jason Starr
• Q&A with SEVERANCE PACKAGE’s Duane Swierczynski
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• CRYSTAL RAIN by Tobias Buckell
• RAGAMUFFIN by Tobias Buckell
• SLY MONGOOSE by Tobias Buckell
